Chairman's Statement

Group turnover during the half year was 9% up at £100.2m ( 2005: £91.6m ). The like for like increase was 7%. Profit before tax was up by 10% to £4.0m ( 2005: £3.6m ), whilst earnings per share also rose by 10% to 6.76p ( 2005: 6.14p ). In the light of these figures and the improving prospects for the Group, the Board has decided to increase the interim dividend to 3.675p per share, a 5% increase over last year's payment of 3.5p per share.

 
Cash stood at £2.0m at the end of June (£4.8m at 31 December 2005) reflecting the build up of debtors and work in progress.

 
Whilst there was some disparity of performance between the various regional and Home Counties operations of the Group, a common feature was the pressure on operating margins which all experienced. The wider spread of customer base and business type, which our acquisitions in recent years have brought us, were therefore important in enabling  us to achieve an advance in turnover and profits during what has proved to be a difficult period.

 
Initial positive progress has been made in bringing the regional operations more closely together, so that all can share in best practice and benefit from the financial strength and experience of the parent company.

 
Looking forward, the prospects for the Group are improving.  The size of our current order book, and the likely upswing in construction industry activity in the latter part of this year and beyond, give us confidence for the future. However, bearing in mind the timing of major contract completions, it is likely that the current year results will be broadly similar to those achieved in 2005.

R.J.Race
Chairman

18th August 2006